A 16-year-old girl from Bangalore city was allegedly lured and raped by a stranger who promised to help her return home.

A 16-year-old missing girl from Bangalore city was allegedly lured and raped by a stranger who promised to help her return to her home in Bangalore after she ran out of money in the Chitradugra town some 200 km from Bangalore.

The stranger allegedly lured the runaway girl to a lodge in Chitradurga and attacked her. Based on details provided by the girl, police in Bangalore arrested a man identified as Prabhakar, a resident of Chitradurga, who lured and assaulted the 16-year-old. Police said the incident came to light after the Yeshwanthapur police in North Bangalore began investigations into the case of the missing pre-university college student.

Police said the girl went missing from Bangalore last week and her parents approached the police to track her down. According to the police the pre-university student had runaway from her home following a misunderstanding with her parents over a relationship. She reached Chitradurga and stayed there for a few days. Soon she ran out of money and was roaming the streets.

Prabhakar offered help and promised to send her to Bangalore after a day. He, however, forced the girl to spend a night at a lodge and allegedly sexually abused her at the lodge before bringing her to Bangalore. After the girl was re-united withe her parents she told her mother that she was raped by the man who helped her return to the city.

The girl’s parents passed the information of the crime to the Yeshwanthapur police who registered a case of rape under provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and nabbed the accused with the help of the victim. Police laid a trap for the accused by asking the victim to call him to meet her.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sandeep Patil who confirmed the incident said that the entire case will be handed over to the Chitradurga district police for further investigation since the crime occurred in Chitradurga.